France Is Trying To Make Google And Facebook Accountable For Hate Speech

France is hoping to make internet companies such as Google and
Facebook accountable for social media posts promoting terrorism,
Bloomberg reports.

The French government is mounting pressure on web companies to
take responsibility for online hate speech as the nation battles
against extremist groups in the wake of
the Charlie Hebdo massacre.

Bloomberg reports that President Hollande spoke in Paris on
Tuesday about a new law that would make internet operators
"accomplices" of such offences —
making a racial statement is a crime in France. A draft of
the legislation could be made next month and challenges messages
across social media platforms.

The president was talking at a memorial for Jews deported in
World War II. He said that social media sites "can no longer
close their eyes if they are considered accomplices of what they
host," and added: "We must act at the European and international
level to define a legal framework so that Internet platforms
which manage social media be considered responsible, and that
sanctions can be taken.”

Bernard Cazeneuve, France's interior minister, said he intends to
travel to the US to discuss the possibility of intervention with
some of the world's biggest tech companies. Twitter, Microsoft,
Google, and Facebook are all on the list. None responded with
comment, however.

ISIS, probably the most radical Islamist terrorist group in the
world right now, is well-known for harnessing social media to
make threats and herald their cause to the world. The
organisation recently documented a "violent frenzy" on
Twitter as part of a social media push.

If we live in fear that we're going to get hurt because some
extremist might not like what you say, that's not freedom of
expression either. That gets to the core of what Facebook is here
to do: stand up and make it so that everyone can have as much of
a voice as possible.